Sgooter

Last Friday I discovered that the lower third of the shiny black plastic trim running along the right edge of the rear glass had broken off. Upon closer inspection I saw a small finger-like attachment point that the trim connects with along the pillar, and it was pulled up at a 45 degree angle. So, something pulled up on the lower edge of the trim piece and the bending force caused the plastic to crack and break off at the lower third area. The only obvious source would be something associated with lowering/raising the roof, but I didn't see any tell-tale clues. Took the SL to the dealer; they raised and lowered the roof several times in hopes of duplicating the problem, but all worked OK. They replaced the "right rear pillar cover" and I donated $200 to M-B's growing treasury.
Anyone else have a rear pillar cover break off?

JackStraw

Mine broke twice in the exact same place. The car was already 4 years old and I did not have a problem with that piece before. The second time it was replaced, the mechanic shifted it up slightly and it has not broken again. I have never been able to figure out why it broke in the first place.

Both times it was replaced under warranty.

Sgooter

Your experience is better than mine, for sure. Unfortunately, my SL is out of warranty, and my ext warranty doesn't cover trim items. At least the SA acknowledged that if it happens again within 12 months, it will be replaced at no charge. I like the trick your tech did about shifting the trim piece up a little higher; I'll try pushing mine up a bit.

Sgooter

This trim piece has broken off again at exactly the same location while lowering the roof. This time the repair should be covered under the 12-month same repair warranty. Hopefully, they can determine what is causing it to break off...again.

Sgooter

Same right roof pillar trim piece broke off again today for the 3rd time in exactly the same way...while lowering the roof.
Oh well, back the dealer on Monday; at least they have the part in stock.

SLorenzo

Yes, the right side of mine also came loose & broke off in half during the opening of hardtop. I didn't replace it yet.........just put black tape to cover for the time being. I have been trying to figure why that even happened as well. After examining, I noticed that there are some double-side tape inside that help holds the plastic cover intact, however, when wet, it doesn't seem to stick too well. So my guess is that the cover became loose and during the opening of the hardtop, it just gets caught in the folding process. Not ready to donate to the MB Treasury just yet.

SLorenzo

Sgooter

My SL's factory warranty expired almost a year ago, so the first replacement of the broken pillar trim cover was at my expense. Each subsequent breakage has been within 12 months of the previous repair, so it's covered under the dealer's (or maybe M-Bz's) service & repair warranty. I hope my dealer will now get more serious about finding the cause of this problem.